Adrian Bates

I was born in the Manchester suburb of Moston up near Failsworth on the Oldham border. My dad had been a mad keen Reds fan in his youth following them up and down the country, but by the time I was being born he had seemingly fell out of love for football and stopped going. When I came of an age that saw me looking to go to a football match I had to rely on my best mates dad to take me along with his own kids. Luckily they lived just up the road and even more luckily they were City fans. My first experience of Maine Road was sitting in the old Platt Lane, meat pie in hand (and I survived!!), watching the great game. This was in the mid 70s with players like Tueart, Hartford, Kidd (how I still remember his headed goal against Villa after a great team move), Booth, Owen, Barnes, Summerbee, Lee, Bell, Steppy Stepanavic, Mike Doyle - and all the rest who kind of merge in my memory into one blurr of City players.

A few things that stick in the memory was in the season we were chasing Liverpool for the title, cold winters midweek game against Liverpool, us up 1:0 and big Dave Watson headed into his own net. Aargh. The greatest I ever saw City play was in thier first half demolition of AC Milan 3:0 after drawing 2:2 away (I remember listening to that game in school since it had been called off the night before due to fog and we were 2:0 up). In that first half we created poetry on the pitch to match anything written by the Bard.

Anyway, here I am now in Melbourne a long way from my beloved Manchester and Joey Holts bitter but thanks to this list I can keep in touch with the news from the Blues. There is also a Man City supporters club over here and in the annual supporters club cub, we beat Sheff Wed, St Mirren, West Ham, Liverpool (ha ha) and West Ham again in the final to take the trophy. In the last three years we have won, came second and won again. Here's hoping City can do something similar!!!

A great 1995 to all the Blues wherever you may be around the world.

Ade in OZ

PS: Is James Stannage still on late night on Piccadilly. Used to love listening in!!